1. Technical Field
The invention includes embodiments that relate to a heater, an apparatus that includes the heater, and associated methods.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A high pressure apparatus may include a heater that heats a work piece under pressure. The heater may include one or more heating elements. Heating elements suitable for use with a gas pressure medium may not be suited for use with a solid pressure medium that is pressed radially outward rather than uniformly pressurized from all directions (e.g., submerged in a high pressure environment). That is, the heater may change volume under operating conditions, but is not required to transfer pressure to or from the work piece. Known heaters for use in high pressure cells with a solid pressure medium may be single-use after being deformed with volume/shape changes in a high pressure high temperature environment, and some prior art single-use units have batch variability causing process variability from run to run.
It is desirable to have a heater, a heating element for use in the heater, and an apparatus that includes a heater that can be used in a high pressure high temperature apparatus with little change in volume, allowing for repeat usage. It is also desirable to have a method of making and/or using a heater, a heating element for use in the heater, and/or a high-pressure high temperature apparatus including a heater that can be used more than once.